> to use a dialup earthlink connection for the first time in several months -
> apparently uunet's dialup routers are now configured to block all attempts to
> connect to tcp/25 (smtp) *except* to approved mail servers on the ISPs'
> networks.

 It's an EarthLink thing, not a UUNET thing. We can only hope that other dialup
providers and ISPs adopt this policy.

> I can connect to mail.earthlink.net, but an attempt to connect to another
> mail server (under my own administrative control, so I know it isn't blocking
> the connection itself), gets blocked, with the following return:

 If you control both ends, set up a VPN or some other tunnel. Then you won't
open yourself up to relaying from the world.